The Shadow Tide

CHAPTER 26 - Answers

The three council members, leaders of the three great houses, had returned to their provinces soon after the king's funeral. Dom Julius, head of House Magnar, had received the most challenging mission—to tame the situation in the Rivena Peninsula, as the Northern Province under his administration encompassed that region.

Thus, the only individuals in the map room that night were Arian, Brethen, Amina, Fausto, Captain Alma, Second Lieutenant Edgar, Captain Jordan of the capital guard, and Alan Nuris, the master of espionage. The latter was a peculiar figure—a man in his fifties, slender, of short stature, and completely unremarkable in appearance, which was ideal for someone who needed to blend in. Yet, there was something in his eyes, a kind of ferocity, that made him extremely disconcerting.

Amina, as the daughter of Lady Caelix and a future council member, was there as a representative of the other councillors, at Arian's request. She seemed pleased to have something to do rather than just dwell on the events of the past few days.

The group gathered around the large table with the map, and in its centre was a small glass sphere.

"Do you know what this is?" Arian asked, and everyone shook their heads. "It's a Memory Sphere, a rare artifact, very difficult to produce. I've been working on it since the day they captured the man who invaded my father's chambers."

Brethen looked at Arian in surprise. He had never mentioned that to her, despite her accompanying him to almost every visit to the secret room.

"As the name suggests, it can reveal memories," Arian continued. "Other spells and artifacts can do the same, like the ones I used to try to find out who helped that man enter the palace and to see fragments of memories through a sword that belonged to the leader of the old Shadow Tide. But this sphere is different. It can gather more precise information, rather than mere confusing fragments, especially when the subject offers them voluntarily. This one contains Lady Belinda's memories."

Arian didn't make any ceremony to talk about magic. Everyone there knew the rumours, and Brethen saw the looks from each one when they had the confirmation that they were true. Amina already knew everything, as did Fausto and Captain Alma, but it was new information for the rest of them.

Arian had already explained the sphere's operation to Brethen on the way to the map room. It could contain more faithful and complete memories if the subject offered them willingly. In Belinda's case, she hadn't been forced, but she also didn't know what she was doing when she agreed to put the sphere in her mouth, so it was hard to tell how accurate the memories would be.

Unlike the spells Arian had used to read the memories in the sword and identify the person who helped in the invasion, the sphere could not project images. Instead, it responded to questions, allowing for clearer information. On a piece of paper, Arian had written the words "yes," "no," "maybe," and "irrelevant" in each corner of the sheet, placing the sphere in the centre.

"Now just ask whatever you want," he said, then turned to the sphere. "Do you carry Lady Belinda Justis's memories?"

Immediately, the little ball rolled across the table and stopped over the word "yes."

There was a murmur of surprise around the table.

Captain Alma took a step forward and asked the next question: "Is the Shadow Tide planning another attack?"

The sphere rolled to the word "maybe." The lack of certainty caused a stir in the room.

"Arian, is there a limit to the number of questions?" Amina asked.

"The sphere retains memories for twenty-four hours," he replied. "Until then, we can ask as many questions as we want."

Brethen leaned on the edge of the table and asked the sphere, "Did Belinda want to participate in the attack on the night of the ball?"